Happy Valentine's Day! Whether you're feeling as single as a Pringle or basking in the warmth of your lover, enjoy some beautiful poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction this Valentine's Day.
Poetry
What is love?
What is love?
I ask the flowers
they tell me that it is searching for the sun
even when it's night
I ask the moon
she tells me that it is reflecting the sun
because she hopes to be as beautiful as her one day
I ask my grandparents
they say it is holding each other
through gritted teeth
and through adoring smiles
I ask the trees
they say it is waiting years
with the hope that their roots will intertwine
I ask you
but I only receive silence
neither of us know
we want to learn together
by Ray Shubert
More Information: It relates to the idea of love, and how this ideal is chased, but sometimes it is important to focus on the smaller, more "insignificant" sides of love, as that can be what builds a relationship the most.
Instagram: @down_the._.rabbit_hole
Bio: Ray Shubert is a teen writer from Utah. She has been writing for many years and is very inspired by gothic literature.
Feedback:
Smrithi: I audibly gasped after reading this because this piece is so beautiful! It truly conveys the idea that love is about the simple and small joys. I love how the poet both conveys the beauties of nature, and also the joys of human love. The last stanza is bittersweet and definitely uplifting. Wonderful piece!
Bri: I love the idea of asking nature something associated with people, not nature.
Ava: This is everything to me. Feels almost like a children's rhyme with its formulaic repetition(in the best way). Each section has its own take on love, I like the multiple perspectives.
Sunflowers
When one day she asked me my favourite plant
I told her, sunflowers
I loved how they stood tall in summer fields, their petals painted vibrant golds.
How they’d turn to face the sun, welcoming its rays with each new day.
And most of all, how the flowers coped, on the days the sun wasn’t out
In the absence of its light, turning to face one another.
She smiled softly, tucking a hair behind my ear
And I thought to myself that when the sun chooses to hide
She was, and always would be, the one I would look toward.
by Ivy Janes
More Information: I wrote this poem based on the time someone who I care a lot about told me that if I was to be a plant, I would be a sunflower, saying that to her I was vibrant and warm and 'sun-like.' She is who I would call 'my person,' so sharing these kinds of moments with her always fills me with so much joy and love, that I thought it would be a perfect sort of thing to share here: a short poem about love that means a lot, about a short moment full of love that meant a lot. I also think (or hope) that other people would feel the same sort of warmth reading it, reminded of or inspired to imagine sweet moments of casual domestic bliss.
Instagram: @ivyallegedly
Bio: Ivy has been an avid reader and writer longer than she can remember, particularly of epic fantasy novels, and pieces that allow her to explore the love and loneliness of our world. She also enjoys being with friends, sketching, baking, taking her dog Jax on walks, and spending every waking moment with music blasting from her headphones.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is beautiful. I smiled reading it, and I definitely relate. The sunflower metaphor is cute and I love the last line that conveys that small feeling of love. Those moments where you just realize wow i love this person. Wonderful piece and truly goes to show how you only need 100 words to make someone feel happy. I hope you send this piece to whoever it's about!
Bri: The idea of having a conversation with someone is so intimate and special. I love it!
Ava: Very sweet! I love the metaphor of sunflowers facing each other.
My Sweetheart’s Power
We’re seven billion on this ball.
I know full well I can’t
Make each soul heed my words at all,
Although that’s what I want.
But when my bae prepares to read
Some of my new-oozed ink,
That moment’s stupendous indeed—
Not even once she’ll blink.
By some miracle, she compresses
All literary journals,
Poetry magazines, and presses
Into her eyes’ lit kernels.
Once read, there’s silence for a while.
Then, gently, she will raise
Her awed face, saying, “God!.....” and smile—
True editorial praise!
by Shamik Banerjee
More Information: My piece is on love or on the different aspects of love excluding heartbreak.
Instagram: @where_tales_end
Bio: Shamik Banerjee is a poet from India. Some of his poems are forthcoming in Ekstasis Magazine, Willow Review, and Modern Reformation, among others. He is a formalist poet.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece brought a smile to my face and I think it's something a lot of people can definitely relate to. We often don't write to please the world but rather to please specific people in our lives and I think this piece does a great job of conveying that. Great work!
Bri: The desire to share your adoration with others is so sweet!
Ava: This is so sweet! Reminds me of the line from Sweet Nothing by Taylor Swift: "I wrote a poem. You say what a mind. This happens all the time."
It isn’t easy loving a poet
It isn’t easy loving a poet
For he will not love me with a look
Instead, write me in the pages of his book.
He will not hold me in his arms
But bind me in rhyme that forever charms;
He will not bring flowers at my door,
Instead, inscribe our love in metaphor.
Though it isn’t easy loving a poet,
There is little I regret,
For if our love will be writ in his pages,
We’d be remembered for ages.
If he will bind me in rhyme,
Our love in heaven would forever chime;
And though he may not bring me flowers,
I would dwell forever in metaphor’s bowers.
And what would love be if a quest for ease,
For it does not slacken or seek to appease.
by R.S
More Information: The poem talks about falling in love with a poet.
Instagram: @thepoetrywindmill
Bio: R.S. resides in India and writes poetry to find harmony in life. She graduated with Honours in English and loves to read and write poetry. She is greatly influenced and inspired by the poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Frost, Pablo Neruda, W.H. Auden and William Butler Yeats to name a few. She loves nature walks and rises early to feel inspired with the morning star and create new rhymes.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This poem is absolutely splendid. I love the rhyme scheme so much and I love how the poet has captured the beauty of poetry and loving a poet. As many of our readers are poets, I'm sure they'd be able to envision what loving them might feel like. The writing and language usage is also marvelous!
Bri: I love how romantic the tone is.
Ava: I love the questioning of if this kind of love is one that works for the narrator.
Bleeding Heart Dove
I wear my love
On my chest,
Raw and bloody,
For the world to see.
So full, am I,
I cannot help but show it.
If I lay still enough,
On a bed of rotten roses,
You would think me dead;
Lovestruck suicide,
My own undoing.
Affection seeping out of me
Like milk-
I am prepared to give you my all.
I am not wounded.
Please,
Believe me.
Crimson stains,
A curse or a blessing?
You need not
Claw my heart out.
I will present it for you,
On silver.
Do not hurt me;
I am already bleeding
For you.
by Jeahnelle Garcia
More Information: This poem is based on the bleeding heart dove (bird), with a red stain on her chest. She contains so much love and hurt that it seeps out of her heart, staining the feathers on her chest deep crimson like blood. She look vulnerable, as if she was born hurt. This piece is for people who were born loving "too much" or were taken advantage for it. At the end of the day, love is vulnerable, and it is beautiful, and people who love "too much" have a beautiful gift that does not deserve to be taken advantage of as it so often is.
Instagram: @_ante.mortem_
Bio: Jeahnelle Garcia is a 17 year old writer from Trinidad. She has been a writer for as long as she can remember (no matter how questionable the quality of said writing was). She loves to make weird art, listen to music, and play with Beans, her beloved cat.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This is a little less optimistic than we expected for this feature but I still do think it conveys a nice message of how those who "love too much" aren't flawed or wrong in any way. It is a little vulnerable but it also shows that these people deserve to be seen. Lovely writing!
Bri: I love how lovestruck this piece is.
Ava: Such a cool metaphor to describe a very vulnerable way of giving love. Really beautiful.
Intangible
If you were carved from smooth marble I’d shine your skin
and wear that glimmer like gold around my neck,
your stone-touched embrace still light with warmth
and the beating of a butterfly’s wings.
If you were a poem I would recite every stanza
into the turn of my elbow, the twist of your lip
and the magnetic sheen of your doe-eyes
until you became one with the energy that bonds us.
Every sentence drilling smiles into crows feet.
Every metaphor a mere flickering candle,
bowing in shame when held to your beauty.
Your burns as exquisite as your voice.
by Ari
More Information: It discusses topics of admiration to the point of putting another individual on a pedestal and how the love for this person is almost intangible, unable to be expressed except through metaphor.
Instagram: @ari.kanji
Bio: Ari likes to write sometimes. Or all the time, actually. It's a problem.
Feedback:
Smrithi: The writing in this piece is marvelous and I love the idea behind it! We all definitely have once in our life "fell too hard" to the point that it becomes unhealthy, but this piece captures the optimistic side of loving someone so much that you'd do anything for them. Wonderful!
Bri: The attention to detail is done well and holds an intimacy we are looking for.
Ava: This is really well written, I love the power of the adoration that comes across.
Fiction
Bus ride, early august
she sits next to me in the back row, hands interlocked. the sun is setting: the same golden light which inspired countless painters settling on a face more perfect than any art. she laughs, and i want to capture the sound, let it loop through my head for eternity. i lean over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and when her gaze meets mine i understand that the love which has been written, painted, and sang of for millennia is right here, in the form of two girls pressed against dusty moquette fabric.
by Rebecca Walker
More Information: My piece is about my girlfriend who I love very very much!
Instagram: @beccamkwalker
Bio: Rebecca is an avid reader and writer based in the UK. When not immersed in a book she can be found baking, playing guitar or listening to music - she is especially inspired by Sylvia Plath, Carol Ann Duffy and the lyrics of Phoebe Bridgers. :-)
Feedback:
Smrithi: Aww this piece is lovely. The writing is picturesque and I love how we're immediately able to capture this image in our mind's eye. The last line is beautiful and almost brought me to tears (in a positive way). Love this feeling!
Bri: I love the line about understanding now why writings, paintings and songs are about love because in a way, we don't know until we experience it ourselves
Ava: This reminds me of that Andrew Garfield quote about Emma Stone: "She was like a shot of espresso. She was like being bathed in sunlight". I love the feeling of gentle love that radiates from this piece.
Love Prevails
One. The first sentence I heard from him was ‘my wife cooks the best’. His eyes light up every time she walks into the room, and every time he thinks of her.
Two. She meets him. She falls in love and walks the path of rehabilitation with him.
Three. When he had a stroke, and his family left with all his money, his former employee returned to his life. No words were needed for her to understand him.
The stars are jealous of the human capacity to love. How do they lose everything but love?
by Owl
More Information: All three men have aphasia. A stroke may have taken away their words, cognitive functions, jobs, families… But somehow, love prevails, sometimes where you least expect it. We all need a reminder of that every once in a while. (I should add that the third relationship is purely platonic.)
Instagram: @owl_writes
Bio: Owl is a speech therapy student. She has been working with people with aphasia and hearing stories. This piece consists of three of those stories.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is AMAZING! I love the short yet crisp descriptions that tell us everything we need to know by using only absolutely necessary words. The last line really ties the piece together well and I think this will be a splendid addition to our feature!
Bri: My favorite aspect is their story and how it is told in stages.
Ava: So uplifting! I adore that last line.
Best kind of love
The best kind of love is one that is unexpected. One that catches both partners off guard. It’s one where you think that the other won’t like you, a simple fear of rejection. And once that feeling of rejection passes due to acceptance, it’s a beautiful feeling. It’s feeling refreshed, a feeling of completion, and a feeling of excitement for what’s about to arrive. It’s when both partners feel safe to share their feelings, without any hesitation. It’s one where both partners put forth the best effort they can muster towards the relationship.
by Anonymous Staff Member
More Information: N/A
Instagram: N/A
Bio: N/A
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is simple and elegant and definitely something a lot of people can relate to! It made me smile and I hope others find this kind of love as well.
Bri: The idea of having a best concept or version of love is sweet and personal.
Ava: I love this idea of love: simple, unexpected, filling.
Cockatoo
When you first became my lover I was sitting alone in my room at eleven at night listening to my favorite song, texting my favorite girl (you). You asked me how my night was and I realized I loved you. I teared up every time I saw your face knowing my butterflies would never be yours.
I first became your lover after you carefully caught each one with a net, fed them sweet songs and honey, and wrapped them in a bouquet with a pink bow. I keep them by my side and promise to keep you safe too.
by Cairo Evans
More Information: This story is about my girlfriend. She reminds me of a cockatoo, hence the title. I had liked her for over a year, but at first she was girlfriends with my ex-best friend (awkward). We started dating in September last year and we're going strong! I wrote about my process of falling in love with her.
Instagram: @abductedcowmag
Bio: Cairo Evans is a young writer. She enjoys theater, reading, drawing, skiing and skateboarding. Her work has been featured in several publications, and she runs her own literary magazine (abducted cow magazine). She is currently directing her first show and loves penguins very much.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is sweet and I love how personal yet broad it is. We can clearly see the author's love for their girlfriend in it, but we can also see our own love and adoration for people in our lives mirrored in the piece. The butterfly analogy is splendid and the writing is marvelous. I love the last line! I hope the author and their girlfriend stay together forever <3
Bri: The second-person perspective is done well.
Ava: This is so cute. I love the progression of unrequited love to mutual love. Really well described!
Creative Nonfiction
The Heart On My Sleeve
I used to think that writing to your love was too much labor. Your hands would start to tremble
from gripping the pen, and how many sonnets could you spout before the recesses of your soul
became empty? But then came him. Sitting in the back of algebra class with his heart on his
sleeve. Suddenly, I was writing. Pages. My poems became his, my writing dedicated to his soul.
Sonnets, love songs, and all the romance I’ve read were all...him. Now, the ring on my finger
follows my pen as I write, and my words are still... all his.
by Elizabeth Dueñas
More Information: The inspiration for this piece of prose came from my experience of falling in love with my husband. Shortly after we started dating, he went away to boot camp for the army, and the only way to talk was through letters. I had the obstinate idea that writing letters to someone I love wasn't worth it or that I couldn't do it. But then, I couldn't stop writing to him. At one point, I sent him four letters in one day, all multiple pages long. I fell in love with him through his letters, and I continue to fall in love with everything he says today. Other people might relate to this piece because, as writers, readers, and consumers, everything around us turns into them when we fall in love—movies, songs, poetry, books, etc. Every thought we have is theirs, and as a writer, it is hard to stop once we start professing our love for them through our words. This piece would be a good fit for this feature because it highlights the raw emotion of love on a universal level. It celebrates our connection and holds my heart deep within it.
Instagram: @literarylizzy_
Bio: Elizabeth Dueñas is a budding, young writer at the start of her publication journey. She has been writing for many years with a strong focus on poetry and prose, drawing inspiration from the connections she has with others. Her work is authentic and captures the essence of the human experience. She is excited for wherever her writing journey will take her.
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is beautiful! Truly shows that within 100 words, you can convey a complete love story in itself. I love the writing and phrases like "my writing dedicated to his soul // the ring on my finger follows my pen as I write" - they really portray the simply joys of love. I also adore the inspiration behind this piece and I definitely think a lot of our readers will be able to relate to it!
Bri: I love that it shows how love changes people in the best way.
Ava: A beautiful devotion of love and how it can fuel you. "Now, the ring on my finger follows my pen as I write" is utterly gorgeous, love the feeling of pure bliss that comes from this one.
Faded Friendship Bracelets (we each have two)
Seven years ago, we were the slowest runners in PE.
We talked about video games, about shows. We still do.
I fell asleep on you in a limo after prom.
Abandoned together at Disney.
Calling on your commute home, facetiming on work breaks.
Our silly characters.
You’re leaving soon, for a while.
You know I’ll miss you. And message you constantly, right? I’ll miss your
curly hair, music flare and sweater vests in june.
You’re the music to my lyrics, my poetry.
You are my best friend.
I love you.
Part Ners
I N
Cri Me
by Tatum Bunker
More Information: My best friend is leaving for a church mission soon. Since we are currently in different states, it's hard to connect with one another as much as we would like. This piece is dedicated to our platonic love and to a friendship that will never die. I think this is a good fit for the feature because it highlights what we consider to be the stepping stones of becoming closer.
Instagram: @
Bio:
Feedback:
Smrithi: This piece is cute and definitely captures the true spirit of platonic love. I love the little memories the author talks about, and the final few lines definitely bring the message home! The partners in crime thing is so cute lol because I love matching things between best friends (I have a necklace with my bsf!)
Bri: Reminiscing of the past is really cute.
Ava: Platonic love is just as powerful as romantic love. I like the formating at the end to look like friendship necklaces.
Touch
Touch had always been a sacred thing.
So, when she first met them, she refused to touch.
It took years - years of gentle guidance, of conversations, of jokes that became inside jokes and
small secrets that became big ones.
But finally, she let herself touch.
It started small; fingers tapping on an arm, a palm on a shoulder.
And then fingers became hands, and hands became hugs, until touching them wasn’t so strange
anymore.
To touch was to trust, and to trust was to open her bricked up heart.
She didn’t even know when they had torn the walls down.
by Heetal Binwani
More Information: This piece was based on my personal experiences with touch, and how it has evolved with my relationships with my friends. I've always been very uncomfortable with touching people - it's something that's reserved for the people closest to me. So, when I first met my friends, I avoided touching them as much as I could; I simply wasn't close enough to them at that point. But, as I grew closer to them, I slowly grew more comfortable with touching them, too. And, at some point, I realized that they weren't just friends to me; they were my confidantes, my supporters, my rocks whenever I felt like I was drowning in a raging sea. I'd grown to love them, deeply - and I wasn't so hesitant to touch them anymore. For me, this was a huge revelation. I hope that other people can find themselves and their own friendships in this work - having the love of friends is the greatest thing in the world.
Instagram: @heetalofalltrades
Bio: Heetal is an artist, musician, and creative writer who lives in the US. When she's not in school, playing her flute, making art, or writing, she usually does homework, reads, bakes, or spends time with her friends. She also has a passion for science, especially chemistry, astronomy, and psychology. In her creative works, she particularly enjoys exploring the human condition.
Feedback:
Smrithi: Aww omg I love this piece. It's such a small thing but going from being averse to touch to opening yourself up to hugs is a major transformation that the author has captured beautifully here. I especially love the last two lines! I hope everyone finds friends like this :)
Bri: The idea of touch being sacred or valued in a certain way is beautiful.
Ava: I love how it shows the development of a friendship through something that is seemingly as simple as touch, but also highlighting the weight it carries for the person.
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